


Red Sunflowers and Green Ink

by Allen_Arthur



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: It was an ask that I liked the idea of way to much, M/M, Mint Chocolate Ship, Multi, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-Colors, im going to die, so it's getting multiple chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:40:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26243542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allen_Arthur/pseuds/Allen_Arthur
Summary: Soulmate AU where you can only see in the shades of your soulmates favorite color.Sometimes that can make your job a little difficult.
Relationships: 2p1pUsUk, 2pAmerica/1pEngland, Alejandro (Allen) Jones/Arthur Kirkland, America/England (Hetalia)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 29





	1. Red Anthem

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on Ao3, Tumblr and Instagram for more hetalia items.  
> @Allen-Arthur

“Look my good sir - I don’t know what to tell you. The best floral arrangements I have are in the colors of red. If you want me to do anything else you’ll have to work with me on this.” Arthur sighed, crossing his arms from behind the glass counter at the customer in front of him. Mentally forcing himself to not roll his eyes at the gentlemen’s bickering from the other side.  
  
“It’s nice and all you can see in more than one color but unfortunately I can’t. The best I can offer you is red, like I said before if you want other colors in this arrangement you will have to spend extra time coming here with the flowers you want to approve everything - so either we can set up a schedule or I’m afraid you will have to find another florist.”  
  
After a couple more minutes of conversing with the customer, Arthur relaxed watching as the gentleman agreed to a time. The florist reached under the counter to pull out a calendar and started writing in the dates the customer had mentioned. “There, I will have the first half of the bouquet done then - you will need to bring the flowers you specially want next week and we will go from there.” Reaching a hand across the table, Arthur shook the customers hand before turning to put the calendar away as the other left.

“I don’t understand how people can come in here without reading the signs posted out front - or just opening their eyes and looking at the decor of this shop.” Matthew walked up next to Arthur as a small chuckle escaped his lips. “I mean, the shop is called Red Anthem - everything in here from the shelves is even red. Yet they come in here asking for the rainbow.” 

Arthur laughed at Matthew’s words. Turning to face the Canadian male while leaning his back on the counter. “It amazes me sometimes the stupidity of this world. Tell me Matthew, do you ignore all the signs anymore now that you can see all the colors?”  
  
Matthew snorted, fixing the front of his apron before looking down at Arthur. “Oh of course I do Arthur. I’ve been enlightened to the colors of this world. I no longer have to listen to the poor souls only limited to one hue of the spectrum - they just have to get me the color I require by guessing.” The Canadian pushed his glasses further up his face as a grin spread on it. “I also just noticed you messed up your colors again today Arthur.”  
  
Arthur started cursing loudly at this. “Bloody hell! I had them organized with tape this time Matthew! I bet it was one of my brothers when they came over the other day. What part did I mess up?” He began to pull at his clothing - the brit deciding to go with a relaxed outfit today since it was Friday. A pair of slip-on vans with tight jeans leading up to an Pink Floyd shirt that was accompanied by a cardigan. His apron and name tag being the only two items from the job he was required to wear.  
  
“You picked two different colors of shoes.” Matthew grinned as he looked the other over, Arthur had accidentally grabbed a white and cream colored shoe. It would almost be impossible to tell the difference if the person could only see in one shade - that’s why Matthew was normally their outfit planner whenever the two florists go out after work.

“Come now Arthur it doesn’t look that bad - it just gives you a edger vibe then you wanted to have in the first place.” Slowly Matthew moved around the counter, making his way towards some of the flower stands to rearrange some of the flowers.  
  
“Still I thought I had a good enough system to not mess up anymore.” The brit opened the register at the counter and began to count the earnings they’ve made so far in the day. “Say Matthew, isn’t James coming to get you at the end of the day to take you to that party?”  
  
Matthew perked up at this, picking up a vase of flowers and moving it up higher on a shelf to reach the sunlight coming in through the windows. “Yes he is! It’s going to be 1 year now we’ve been together. He has a whole day planned for us tomorrow - are you sure it’s okay I take the day off? I know Saturday’s can get pretty busy.” He looked back at Arthur, lavender eyes shining with hope. 

“Yes you twat, I told you to go have fun with your boyfriend and I mean it. I’ll be fine don’t worry - if I absolutely need anything I can just call Francis. He needs to get his hands dirty everyone once in a while - it will give him more experience for his company.” Arthur grinned and the thought. “Wasn’t he just in France last week anyways? Did you hear how the trip went?”  
  
“Francis fell in love with the city and it’s people - that's no surprise. Apparently he sealed the deal and will be opening up one of his restaurants in the middle of Paris.” Arthur’s eyebrows rose at this. “Well all be damned, I’ll have to make him a congratulations bouquet then.”  
  
“So Arthur, when are you going to start getting out there again to find the one?” Matthew had returned behind the counter to poke the brit’s side. “You can’t stay red forever you know.” The Canadian laughed at his own joke. 

“Very funny Matthew. I don’t know to be honest, I got tired of looking - it gets awkward after a while of going to meet someone only for you to look them in the eyes and nothing happens. Most of the time I get there and leave within the first 5 minutes because we are both too disappointed by then.” Arthur sighed, pulling the cardigan around his body tighter to give himself some comfort. “I’ve just resigned myself to the fact either they walk through that front door of this shop sometime soon or I’m just giving up.”  
  
Matthew rested a hand on Arthur’s shoulder. “I understand how you feel, well James and I will just have to start bringing in random people into the shop until you find your soulmate then.” Arthur pushed at Matthew's side from the comment, causing the taller of the two to laugh. 

“No! I absolutely do not want any random person either you or James drag off the street into my shop. Who knows where they have been, I don’t want whatever is on them to start killing my flowers.”  
  
“I'm telling you Arthur you really should meet some of Jame’s friends though - I know there is one you’d get along with easily. His arms are completely covered in tattoos of flowers -” Arthur glared at Matthew before he could finish his sentence.  
  
“No Matthew, I trust you but I still don’t trust whatever kind of friends James had. You’re lucky I didn’t attack the poor man when he first walked in here! I mean who thinks it’s a good idea to carry an axe of all things into the middle of town - in a flower shop of all things!” 

“Ah yes, a lumberjack carrying his axe around while bringing us firewood for the fireplace in the shop to keep us warm because our heater broke last year. Such an evil thing to do.” Matthew quickly grabbed Arthur’s hands before they could poke him in the side anymore, laughs escaping his mouth at Arthur’s attempts.  
  
“I don’t appreciate your sarcasm sometimes you moose.” Arthur snorted. “I still can’t believe James is a lumberjack, of all things to be your soulmate.” Matthew smirked at this. “At least my soulmate isn’t a full time Youtuber.” Both Matthew and Arthur began laughing at the joke.  
  
“I feel bad for whoever is stuck with your brother Matthew - I hope they like being on camera all the time.” Arthur looked down at his watch with a hum. “Well it’s time to start closing up - you have a party to get too after all.” Arthur followed Matthew around the counter as they began moving flowers and shutting blinds to prepare the shop for closing. 

As the clock struck 7pm, Arthur and Matthew finally finished up the shop for the evening. The bell above the door sounded as a pair of heavy footsteps made their way inside.  
  
“Good evening Arthur, Matthew.” A figure dressed in plaid walked in, holding open the door for someone else to follow in behind him. Before the male got a second foot in the shop Matthew jumped into his arms with a laugh. “James! You are always right on time.” The man known as James just laughed, spinning the smaller Cananidan in his arms. “Well I know a certain someone would just lock the door and never let me in.” James turned in time to see Arthur flipping him off from the counter.  
  
“I’d leave you out there in your elements you ragged bear.” Arthur snorted, only pausing for a second as he noticed the taller male behind James. The figure was looking around at the flowers in the vases - almost a head taller than James. The brits eyes widened as he noticed some tattoos peeking out from underneath the figure's shirt - in the shape of flowers.  
  
“Oh right, shit manners.” James put Matthew down as he turned back to the male behind him. “This is Alejandro, my brother. He’s coming to the party with us tonight Matthew if that’s alright with you. Alejandro, that's Arthur back there - the owner of this flower shop.”

Alejandro turned his head to nod at Arthur but not making eye contact with him. “Pleasure to meet y'all - the flowers here are beautiful by the way. Never seen some of them get this big before. Ya must have some kind of magic or something.” He moved to touch one of the petals of the roses that sat in massive vases near the door. He then pulled his hand back and gave a wave as he walked back out the door.  
  
James sighed at that. “Sorry, he’s not a talkative type - I practically had to force him out of the garage today.” James turned to look at Arthur but was surprised as he saw the brit staring past them at the door, a small tint of red on his face. 

“Earth to Arthur, Hey - teacup wake up.” At one point James and Matthew had moved back to the counter - James snapping his fingers in front of Arthur’s face to get his attention. 

Arthur startled from the noise, quickly snapping his attention to James and Matthew. “Ah sorry, I'm just exhausted is all. I didn’t know you had a brother James.”  
  
The taller Canadian nodded. “Yup, Alejandro. He’s a little older than me - he’s a tattoo artist and a motorcycle racer. He’s here on vacation right now and I decided to drag him around town with me. He likes hiding in his shell too much.”  
  
Arthur chuckled at this. “Sounds like a certain moose I know -” The brit quickly dodged the hand that came after him with a grin. He then moved to start pushing Matthew and James towards the front door. “Now get going, you don’t want to be late for that party and you have a long day tomorrow.”  
  
“Oh Arthur I left an outfit for you in the back when you come in! I promise it’s all color matching and super comfy since it’s Saturday.” Matthew called out as he was pushed out the front door. Arthur waved at the two as they made their way to James' truck that was parked out front. 

Arthur then reached up to switch the open sign to close and lock the front door. He paused to look at the rose bush that Alejandro had touched. For a second he swore a spot on the petal wasn’t as red as it should be but Arthur just shook his head - mentally blaming it all on the exhausting day he had.


	2. Saturdays are for Flowers not Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saturdays are pretty busy around the shop and Arthur is left by himself to manage everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on Tumblr and Ao3: @Allen-Arthur and @Spades-Reversed

Arthur let out a groan as the flower shop came into view, 10 minutes early and there was already a line in front of the door. He knew Saturdays were busy but he never expected them to be like this. A small voice in the back of his mind reminded him there was a soulmate party last night in the town - it seemed as though some people might have found their second half.

Pulling around the building, Arthur parked his car and sat there sipping his cup of a tea for a second. It was a chilly morning, the brit was wrapped in a baggy cardigan with a thick sweatshirt underneath. 

Locking his car, Arthur quickly went in through the back door and over to his desk. A smile slipping onto his face as he noticed the outfit Matthew left him. To him it was in shades of reds and pinks but he knew Matthew had picked out something nice.

Quickly changing into the outfit - Arthur grabbed an apron and threw it on, opening the door from the office to the counter in the back of the shop. Setting the cup of tea on the counter to jog over to the front door - flipping the closed sign to opening and letting the first customers of the day in with a smile.

The shop had only been open for one hour and Arthur had almost sold out all of his pre-maid arrangements. Running around to check on everyone had taken its toll on Arthur - he was tired and shocked the store hasn’t been this busy in ages. Once Arthur had a break he slid behind the glass counter gripping his cup of tea for dear life.

Sipping at the now ice cold tea Arthur felt a buzz coming from his phone. The Brit reached down to pull it out of his pocket - noticing it was from Matthew. Before he could swipe the screen to answer the call a couple of customers came up to the counter wanting some help. Before Arthur thought to even send a message to Matthew letting him know he was fine, Arthur quickly put his phone in front of the register and moved around the counter to help them.

-

“James this is the 5th call he’s ignored I’m getting worried -” Matthew looked over to his boyfriend nervously. “Do you think he’s okay? I knew I should’ve gone over this mornin-” A arm slipped around Matthew’s waist - calming him slightly. They were standing around in Jame’s kitchen relaxing before they went out for the day. 

“Mattie I think he’s fine. He might just be doing his arrangements and ignoring his phone.” James muttered softly as he was making a pot of coffee. “If you want we can stop by before we head out and see really quick -”

“Ya’ll realize I’m standing right here, right?” Alejandro slurred out in a deep southern accent as he slid into the kitchen. The man was dressed in a simple grey hoodie, grey jeans with combat boots that come up to mid calf height. He reached out for one of the cups of coffee James was making for everyone, drinking it all in one gulp before setting the cup down gently only to return his gaze to the shocked Canadians looking at him. 

“What? Do I have somethin’ on my face?” 

“Alejandro Jones since when are you up before nine in the fucking morning?!” James whipped around, leaning into the counter looking at Alejandro shocked. 

“Sometimes I can wake up early you asshole-” Alejandro reached out to pull on James' hair to drag his brother under his arm and mess up his hair with a grin.

Soon a grunt escaped him as James punched the american straight in the gut - doubling over in laughter and some pain.

Matthew was laughing on the other side of the counter at the two idiots, however his laughter died quickly as he noticed the 6th call he was making to Arthur went unanswered with the multiple text messages. “James I love you but I can’t wait anymore I have to go check on him I’m just worried he never misses these even on other Saturday’s he’s worked alone -”  
  
“Oh, Arthur? What’s going on?” Alejandro stood up right away at the mention of the brit’s name. Catching the look James shot him with a shrug, pushing the Canadian away. 

“He’s working the shop alone today and normally I wouldn’t be worried but he’s missed 6 of my calls and all the messages I sent. I need to see if he’s okay.”  
  
Alejandro raised an eyebrow at that, reaching a hand up to mess with one of the piercings under his lip with a hum. “But ya’ll have that date day today don’t you? Plus those reservations to that really hard place to get int-” A loud smack sounded in the room as James slapped a hand over Alejandro’s mouth. 

“Yes brother we have some stuff planned - but we will make time to see Arthur since Matthew is worried about him.”  
  
“JAMES YOU DIDN’T?!” Matthew slapped his hands onto the counter, eyes widened in shock. “James! James you bastard tell me you didn’t - how?! You have that planned for today?” 

James gave a death glare to Alejandro - the american slowly slinking back out of sheer embarrassment. “Oops haha - um so how about I go check on Arthur why ya’ll do your thing? Okay? Okay! Sounds great, catch ya’ll later-'' Ducking to avoid the oncoming swing Alejandro darted out of the kitchen and back through the living room as he heard James yelling after him with Matthew yelling at James.

-

Arthur was discussing plans with a customer while carrying a vase of flowers. The shop was still packed a couple hours after opening. Currently Arthur was bringing out older arrangements and experiment arrangements from the back since it was all he had left. Most of his newer ones and flowers had been bought by the morning crowd but as Arthur noticed the later in the day it was getting the more and more people that were coming in. 

Arthur knew by mid-day he would be out of flowers and he would need to go to the market to get more but that would mean he would need to close the shop in order to do that but his car wouldn’t be big enough for the amount of flowers he would need. 

Moving to set the vase down and let the customer take a look the brit heard the front door open once more - a curse being muttered as someone pushed their way inside. With a sigh Arthur turned to greet the customer only to stop dead in his tracks when he noticed who walked through the door.

Blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in a perfectly pressed suit smiled down at Arthur. Slowly making his way past a couple of customers to stand right in front of Arthur. “Artie! Hey! It’s been a while, how are you doing?! Man, look at this place it’s just booming with business today!” 

“Ah Alfred, how lovely it is to see you today-” Arthur let out a small yelp as Alfred pulled him into a bone crushing hug. Lifting the brit off his feet for a couple of seconds before setting him back down. 

“Don’t be so formal dude! It’s not like we don’t know each other! Where is Matthew? I thought he’s normally here on Sundays?”

“He’s currently out with James since it’s there one year today.”

Arthur was surprised to see Alfred’s face drop at the mention of James, the smile turning into a thin line while the sparkle in his eyes died as well. “Ah that’s right he’s with James still isn’t he? I told him I was going to be in town this week and I wanted to grab lunch with him.”  
Arthur looked at the male nervously - not wanting to spark another family conflict. “Oh well I’m sure he has plans to hang out with you when he came back later this evening. Now how can I help you? You’ve must've had a long plane ride - I can’t offer you much besides a chair near some flowers but it might help.”  
Alfred shook his head. “No thank you, I came here in search of Matthew but that’s alright. However I also do need to talk with you about your compan-”

Arthur let out a loud groan from this - causing some of the customers to look over, the brit barely heard the sound of the door opening again but was too occupied with Alfred at the moment. “Alfred please how many times do I have to tell you I’m not interested in expanding - i’m happy with this shop and it’s all I ever wanted.”

“Arthur, just listen to me. You could be doing so much more than just working in this tiny shop. If you would just sit down and listen to my proposal then you’d see just how quickly you can make enough money to pay back your loans for this place and school-”

“I’m making all of my payments ontime and I’m not behind on anything Alfred I don’t want to mess any of this up with taking a risk. People in the bigger cities don’t care for flowers or plants - this is why I set up shop more in the countryside so I can make the sales to pay my bills and make people happy you twat.” 

“This is a far cry from the Arthur I knew in college that wanted to be a world famous Author and live by traveling the world. Now you want to be a college drop out with a tiny flower shop in hopes of paying off your loans? What happened Arthur? What happened to you, to us? Come on, just work with me here. I can pay off your loans and we can work on getting you back to that dream-”

“That dream where you want me to be with you hm? No Alfred, we aren’t soulmates get that through your head please.. We aren’t meant for each other - look you travel the world all the time I know you’ll find whoever it is-”

“I know who I want Arthur - I’m not giving up on this.”

“Alfred please, just let this all go.” Arthur backed away from Alfred, slowly trying to put more space in between them as the conversation turned sour.

“No, I'm not leaving this town without you, Arthur. I’m done running circles, either you listen to me and let me help or this shop will fail -” Alfred let out a surprised grunt as he was pulled back. Whipping around to snap at whoever put their hands on him - only to pause in shock to come face to face with a man that was taller than him.    


“Alright city-bitch. I think you’ve said enough of your money grabbin’ threats. You have two seconds to haul ass outta here back to your ivory towers or I’ll be running your ass over myself.” A deep southern voice leaned over into Alfred’s space with a growl.

Arthur’s eyes widened as he recognized the other male. Before he could move to break the two apart Alfred ripped his shoulder away from tallers hand with a frown on his face. “Oh Arthur, how nice of you to tell me you had a guard dog now. You might want to put him on a lease before he gets you into any more trouble - legal trouble.”

“Who are you callin’ a criminal playboy?” The southern male quickly got into Alfred’s face with a snarl. “You think you can just assume what people are like just by lookin’? I’d like to see how you talk out back or on a race track sunshine. Or do you just hide behind wooden desks all day worrying about that paycheck now?”

“Enough!” Arthur pushed his way in between the two Americans to push them apart. “Alfred just get out. If you want to see Matthew do it on your own time, not in my shop - not anymore, I don’t want to see you in here.” Alfred let out another growl as his eyes locked to the other male behind Arthur. “You are going to regret this - picking up some punk on the side of the road.”   
  
“My name is Alejandro F. Jones' asshole look it up. A quick google search will tell you that I’m certainly not some punk from the side of the road - I am the King of the Road.” Arthur turned his head to the side seeing his customers all staring at the exchange wide eyed. Most of them are staring at Alejandro.

Alfred let out a loud laugh at this. “Wait, so you’re fucking telling me the number one racer in the world, The Ruby Anthem is fucking Arthur Kirkland’s guard dog? You’re joking - there is no way fate would do that. He’s supposed to be with me hot shot. Now if you don’t mind butting out of this conversation you don’t belong in -” Alfred grabbed Arthur’s arm harshly, pulling the brit right into Alfred’s chest.

Without a second to think Arthur quickly covered his face with his arms as Alejandro reached out to grab at Alfred - a punch quickly landing right in the middle of the blonde’s face, a string of curses following.

-

“Hold still-” Arthur sighed as he gently pressed a cloth to the side of Alejandro’s face. The bruising went down slightly but the rag was used to soak up some of the blood from the split in his check. Arthur noticed Alejandro wincing from the pressure of the cloth and quickly pulled it away. “Shit I’m sorry-” Alejandro just shook his head - a hand covering his eyes since he had to take his sunglasses off. 

“It’s fine teacup, I’m the one who should be sorry for starting a fist fight in the middle of your shop.” 

“Let me guess you heard the teacup nickname from James didn’t you.” Arthur just laughed lightly, slowly pressing the cloth back onto Alejandro’s face. “Don’t be sorry - you only broke a couple of vases, and shelves - but at least you had the customers cheering for you and not running in fear. You also did save me from having to deal with Alfred today so I believe I owe you the thanks.”

Alejandro grunted, staying quiet as Arthur worked on the side of his face. Keeping his eyes covered and staying silent. A snort escaping him after a couple of seconds.

“I forgot to call James and let him know about ya’ - god him and Mattie must be running circles on their date right now.” 

“Imagine the circles they will run around you when they find out who you decided to fight in the middle of my shop over my honor.” Arthur and Alejandro took a second for that to settle in before they both started laughing.

“Alejandro, can I ask you something?” Arthur mused as he walked over to the sink in the back office to clean out the rag. 

“Hm? Yeah sure ask away - I ain’t got nothing to hide.”

“Why do you cover your eyes around people?”

“Alright I lied I have some stuff I want to hide.”

Arthur laughed just enough to start snorting - he didn’t see but Alejandro had the biggest grin on his face, the hand had slid down his face so he could look at Arthur’s back - his red eyes sparkling in mirth. 

Before Arthur turned around Alejandro was covering his face once more. “To answer your question, I don’t want to find my soulmate. If I did I would feel bad for them - having to deal with me and what I do. The only place I can ever hide from the paparazzi anymore is here. They don’t even know about my brother so he can live his life in privacy.” 

“You think they wouldn’t be happy with that kind of life?” Arthur raised an eyebrow at this, making his way back over to Alejandro to sit down next to him - holding some bandaids in his hands. 

“No. Who wants to be stuck with someone they barely know who’s spent their entire life in front of the media? I couldn’t just pull someone away from their life into that.” 

“I need you to move your hand so I can put this on okay? Just keep your eyes closed then okay? I don’t mind either way - I know I most likely won’t find my soulmate. I’ve been on to many dates to have any hope left of finding someone.”

After a couple of seconds Alejandro let his hand slide from his face but kept his eyes shut. Letting Arthur work on placing the bandaid on his face with care. 

“What makes you think you won't ever find someone?” Alejandro asked quietly, hands fiddling with the edges of his jacket.

“Who would fate stick with a flower shop owner? Alfred was right, when I was in college I dreamed of the world - yet I didn’t realize how much of a fool I was. Now I’m here.”

“Hey.” Alejandro reached out blindly to gently grab one of Arthur’s hands. “Whoever is your soulmate will be lucky to have someone like ya. It doesn’t matter the work you do - it matters who ya are. God I’m sounding like James now-” 

Arthur laughed at this, lightly squeezing Alejandro’s hand in return before returning to his work.

“Thank you Alejandro, you're too kind. Do not worry I think whoever you find will be happy with you. Knowing that you would punch my ex in the middle of my flower shop without hesitation gives me confidence you’ll do fine.” 

Alejandro nodded at this. Waiting for Arthur to finish before turning his head, opening his eyes to look at the other male - only to feel the coolness of his sunglasses being slipped onto his face. 

“I - sorry I should’ve warned you before putting your glasses on for you.” Arthur let out a small nervous laugh before quickly turning to stand - walking back over to his desk. “Just rest okay? I’m going to text Matthew to let him know everything is okay.”   
  


Alejandro noticed the shaking of Arthur’s hands. With a frown he looked back to the other side of the office. “Sorry, I should’ve asked before I tried to look-”

“No! No its - it’s okay I just-”

“You don’t want to know no I get it-”  
“I didn’t want to be disappointed!” 

Alejandro’s head whipped around fast enough for his sunglasses to slip down his face. Eyes staring at Arthur’s back in shock. “What?”

Arthur sighed, keeping his back turned to the other male. “Look, just not yet. I don’t want to be disappointed again in my life. I’d rather just - get to know you without knowing that outcome.. Maybe - maybe you’ve given me some hope again. I don’t bloody know - but I just can’t right now okay? After seeing what you did to Alfred to stand up for me..”

Alejandro nodded slowly at this. “Okay..okay I won’t look at you until ya want too. We’ll just - see how it goes okay? If you still want me coming around that is - I believe I heard James saying something about you calling me a punk.” Alejandro dodged a jacket that was sent his way with a chuckle - a grin slowly returning to his face.

“You are a punk! Just - a punk i’d be willing to let into my shop from time to time if you aren’t busy.”

“Teacup I’m scheduled to be here the whole month until the racing season starts again. Maybe you could even come see some of my races?”

Arthur laughed at this. “Alejandro if I had the extra money I would-”

“It wouldn’t cost ya a thing - my treat. VIP suit to come see me race and then maybe we can hang out after?”

“Alejandro I couldn’t - you don’t need to waste your bloody money on me”

Before Alejandro could say anything Arthur’s phone went off. With a smile, he answered it only to put it on speaker phone and hear Matthew yelling on the other side.

“Arthur! What the hell eh? I’ve been calling for hours-”

“And I told you not to worry and enjoy your date. It was busy in the morning but Alejandro came and helped me out - we are just on lunch break now and going back soon.”

“Arthur Esmerald Kirkland don’t you lie to me, Alejandro texted James and told him he got into a fist fight in the middle of the store!”

Arthur’s face got a little red from the mention of his middle name but a grin spread on his face. “Alejandro decked Alfred right in the face, breaking the yank’s glasses and knocking him right over into a shelf full of flowers.”  
“ALEJANDRO YOU DID WHAT?!” Matthew shrieked over the phone - however they could hear laughing on the other side from James.

Alejandro and Arthur just grinned at each other in amusement. 


	3. A Race A Day Keeps the Ex Away

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuma let out a sad whine as one of his humans stopped brushing him, Kuma deserves more attention then this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ,u,

“Matthew, are you sure about this? Should I really say yes?” Arthur mumbled as he looked down to his phone. It had been a week since Alejandro had shown up at the shop and they two had exchanged numbers to keep in touch. Earlier in the morning Alejandro had worked up the courage to ask Arthur if he’d be interested in going out on a date - causing the brit to freak out all morning while opening the flower shop.

“Arthur you are overthinking this. It’s just a simple date and I bet he is freaking out just as much as you are. I know Alejandro and I think he is being honest with his intentions here. “ Matthew finished setting up one of the flower displays before walking back over to Arthur who was now leaning on the front counter re-reading the message. 

“Arthur, He’s nothing like Alfred -”

“I know Matthew! I just, I had given up all hope and now this punk just comes into my life with the fast lane - having no problems punching my ex in the face, understanding I didn’t want to look him in the eye and now wants to get closer to me. It just seems too good to be true.”

“Isn’t that how fate is supposed to work?” Matthew grinned, seeing Arthur taking his words in before turning to glare at the canadian. 

“Did you just quote that stupid movie you and James cry over?”

“Yes I did, and I’m right.”  
“Matthew I bloody hate you.” Without moving his gaze, Arthur typed a reply to Alejandro. 

-

“James, you fuckin’ deer he actualy said yes.” Alejandro tried pushing his way into the living room with a grin on his face. With a grunt he leaned down to pick up Matthew’s dog that was laying in the way and carried it with him. “Kuma lay off the seconds damn.”   
  
“Don’t call Kuma heavy eh? Matthew will kill you if you make the dog upset.” James laughed from his seat on the couch - looking up for his newspaper to the american. “So teacup said yes? Well congrats then, have you decided on what kind of date you’re taking him on?”   
  


Alejandro sat down on the other end of the couch, moving Kuma into his lap. Leaning forward to grab the dog brush off the coffee table before getting to work on the dog’s massive fur coat. “I was thinkin’ of takin’ him up to that overlook of the city. Ya know the one where we dared Lorenzo to sled down? Man he was so pissed after he broke his arm from that.”  
  
James laughed loudly, putting his newspaper down on the coffee table as he leaned back. “My god that was funny eh? Well that place is pretty awesome at night - what are you gonna do during the day?”  
“I was thinking about taking him to the race track to try out some of my rides-”  
“Alejandro, you’d like doing that all day but you need to think about what Arthur would like.”  
  
The american frowned, digging his hands into Kuma’s fur gently before burying his face into it. “Shit”

“Do not suffocate in the dog Matthew would kill me for that too eh!” James reached over to pull Alejandro’s face out from the death trap that is Kuma.  
“‘Hell where do I take him then? I don’t want to be like any other date he’s been on. No borin’ dinner dates or the crappy movies..”

“What about something fall themed like pumpkin picking? He might enjoy doing that to get some fall stuff for his flower shop.”   
  


Alejandro took a second to think before a grin formed on his face. “I like that idea James. Pumpkin’ pickin’ and a picnic.”   
“Don’t say that sentence 3 times in a row with your accent - no one will understand you.” James laughed as he dodged a dog brush being chucked at his head.  
  
Kuma let out a sad whine as one of his humans stopped brushing him, Kuma deserves more attention then this.   
  


-

“Arthur stop squirming for two seconds so I can fix your shirt-” Matthew tugged the collar of Arthur’s shirt down so it laid flat under the cardigan the brit was wearing.

“Sorry, bloody hell. Do I look alright? I know he said casual but what does that exactly mean for a date?” Arthur huffed as he stopped moving, letting Matthew mess with the outfit as needed. Looking at himself in the mirror Arthur only saw many different shades of red but he trusted Matthew on the outfit he had put together. 

“It means he wants you to dress in whatever you find comfortable Arthur. He has something nice planned for the both of you - now take a deep breath and get ready because I think he just pulled in.” Matthew winked down at Arthur when the Brit tensed - the sound of a car engine was noticeable as it pulled into Arthur’s driveway.

Alejandro put his car into park. A sigh escaping his mouth as he flipped down the mirror to double check everything. Hair in place, no baggy eyes, sunglasses cleaned and snug against his face - the american was wearing a puffy vest over a plaid button up, dark colored jeans and fall boots. Everything in the shade of green to Alejandro but James had swore everything looked good.

Leaning over to the passenger seat Alejandro gently unbuckled the bouquet of flowers he had gotten Arthur. They all looked one color to him but the shapes he thought Arthur would like. Slowly opening the door, and getting out in a way to make sure the flowers were alright. Shutting the door with his hip, Alejandro made his way up the stairs of Arthur’s front porch and chuckled - seeing the rocking chairs and side tables set up for sitting outside. “How cute, this is a nice place to watch the sunset.” Moving the flowers to one arm, Alejandro carefully pulled something out of his pocket and placed it slightly under a blanket on one of the rocking chairs - then raising an arm to knock on the front door nervously. 

After a second Arthur sucked in a breath and made his way over to the front door opening it only to come to a face full of flowers. A gasp escaped from him, looking at the flowers in front of him before he met the red sunglasses of the american in front of him.

“I know it was kinda corny to get a florist flowers for a date but I thought ya’ would like the shapes of these. Never saw ‘im in your shop.” Alejandro’s face flushed as he peaked around the flowers to get a good look at Arthur. “Oh, oh wow - you’re the most handsome flower i’d ever seen.”

Arthur flushed a bright red at this. A small laugh escaped him as he took the flowers into his hands. “Where in the world did you find these? I’ve never seen some of these flowers before I love them - thank you. You look handsome yourself punk.” Arthur winked, moving to take a step back inside and setting the flowers down in the entryway table - taking care to make sure they are safe before stepping back outside and shutting the door behind him. “I’m excited to see what you have planned for today.”

Alejandro laughed nervously at this, gently taking Arthur’s hand in his and bringing it up to his lips to kiss each knuckle on the brits hand. “My plan is just to give you a relaxing day. You deserve it and I want to show you just how much fun this ‘punk’ is.” Taking a step to the side, the american began to lead Arthur down the stairs before stopping after hearing a gasp.  
  
“Alejandro Hovier Jones did you just bloody roll up to my house in a Lamborghini?!” Arthur looked shocked, his hand tightening in Alejandro’s but not letting go - his eyes glued to the nicest car he’s ever seen in his life. 

“First of all how the hell did you learn my middle name?” Alejandro raised an eyebrow at this, a grin on his face but getting more nervous by the second. “Shit, should I have not driven that car? Do you not like sports car - I should've asked first.” 

“No! No it’s not that - oh James told me by the way he said I might need to know it and he was right. I just, I didn’t expect you to show up in something so nice.”

“James is gonna get a black eye later. You deserve everything out of me today Arthur, I wanted to take you around in my best but if you honestly don’t like the car don’t worry I will go get a different one for our date.” He smiled down at Arthur, moving to lean their sides together as he watched Arthur smile back at him - even though he was thinking of all the ways to harm his brother when the night was over. 

-

_ “Come on Arthur! Let's go, we don’t want to be late for our reservations.” Alfred let out a laugh as he stood next to his car - a beautiful blue mustang the american loved so much. _

_ Arthur hurried to finish his outfit before darting out the door, locking it behind him. “Okay okay I’m coming!” Rushing down the stairs Arthur made his way over to Alfred with a nervous smile. “Our first date and you show up with your best didn’t you?” A laugh escaped him. _

_“Of course I did Artie! Just for you, come on now lets go before we are late - I didn’t know you would take forever to get ready.”_ _  
_ _“I was nervous Alfred! Bloody hell it’s not every day your college crush asks you out on a date-” Arthur put his hand on the side of the car as he walked around to the passenger side._

 _“Arthur, hands off the car please - I just got it waxed.” Alfred frowned, his eyes staring right where Arthur’s hand was._ _  
_ _“Oh, oh sorry I just - did it out of habit it won't happen again.”_

_ “Good, this car is more expensive than your apartment so be careful with it. I decided to bring this out for dinner because I didn’t think you’d be putting your hands all over it.” _

_ “Okay okay bloody fucking hell I’m sorry I touched the most important thing in your life -” Arthur threw open the car door and just slid in, slamming it behind him as well.  _

_ “Arthur! Don’t fucking do that you’ll break my god damn door-” _

-

“Earth to Arthur you all good teacup?” Alejandro squeezed Arthur’s hand again. A smile returned to his face when Arthur turned to him with a smile on his as well.

“Sorry love I’m okay I promise - don’t worry the car is fine come now we have places to be right?”

“We aren’t in any rush teacup.” With a grin Alejandro quickly picked Arthur up and darted over to his car with a laugh, Arthur yelling and pounding on his back. Without a second to rethink what he was doing Alejandro placed Arthur on the hood of his car and jumped back - taking out his phone to take pictures of the other male while laughing. “Look at you! Come on pose! Then I’ll take some with ya, I want ya to have some memories of this day Arthur.”

Arthur froze the minute he was sat on the hood of the car. Looking up to Alejandro nervously - his hands shaking a little bit before they settled on the hood of the car. At Alejandro’s insistence he slid up higher on the hood and moved around for the camera. After a couple of seconds Alejandro jumped on the hood himself and pulled Arthur close to take a couple of pictures together.

Arthur truly smiled at this, leaning into Alejandro as he got more comfortable with the other male. This was the first time in all the dates Arthur had ever been on that someone was actually interested in just spending some time together. 

-

“Alejandro dear please let me help you -” Arthur tried to cover his face before a laugh escaped him. Leaning on the wooden fence as he watched Alejandro running around the field on the other side - being chased by the goats.

“No! It’s a goo- SHIT OUCH!” Alejandro yelped as a goat bit him in the side of the leg - moving to pick up the pace as he ran. After a couple more yelps and jumping over some of the goats - Alejandro leans down to grab something before making his way back to the fence and leaping it in one motion but falling on his ass right next to Arthur and just laughing as hard as he could while holding a baby goat in his arms. 

Arthur just laughed as well, leaning down to wrap his arms around Alejandro’s shoulder and helping him stand. Reaching around he also rubbed under the chin of the baby goat and cooing at it. He smiled at the farmer that came over to gently take the baby goat from them and hand Alejandro a stuffed one as the prize. 

“Who knew you’d be willing to catch a baby goat in the goat pen for me?” Arthur smiled even more when Alejandro handed him the stuffed goat.

“Of course doll, i’d be willing to run around in the pig pen too - god I haven’t done anything like that since my days on the farm.” Alejandro stretched out before wrapping an arm around Arthur’s shoulder as they made their way around the farm - taking in and enjoying the sights of the fall festival that was going on around them. 

“How about we go through the corn maze and pick some pumpkins hm? Then we can take them back later and carve them.” Arthur smiled up to Alejandro only for his face to get red once he realized the implications of his offer. 

-

_ “You want me to stay for a cup of coffee?” Alfred laughed lightly while standing on Arthur’s porch, coat wrapped around himself in the cool night air. _

_ “Well yes, if you don’t want to, you don’t have to. It was just an offer - I had a nice night.” _

_ “I’ll stay if you look at me.”  _

_ “What?” _

_ “Look at me Arthur - I want us to make this official, to be soulmates for real. Once you look at me then I’ll stay tonight and show you what it’s like to be in a real relationship.” _

_ “Alfred I don’t think it’s such a good idea - maybe we should wait a few more dates before looking.” _

_ “Arthur, look at me now.” Before Arthur had a chance to react Alfred reached out to grab Arthur’s chin and force his gaze upwards to his.  _

_ Their eyes locked and all Arthur saw was that ruby he’s seen his entire life. _

-

Alejandro grinned widely down at Arthur. “I’d love to carve them with ya tonight. Maybe we can even make a cup of tea and sit outside on that lovely porch you have. Should we pick some pumpkins up for Matthew and James too? It might be fun to have them join us as well.”

“I’d, you know what yes let's do that. We can have a late night pumpkin carving with them.” Arthur smiled, leading the way to the line for the hayride that leads to the corn maze and pumpkin patch - the smile on his face had never been bigger.

-

“Open your eyes teacup.” Alejandro laughed as he moved his hands that were covering Arthur’s eyes. Taking a step back to survey his own work - a picnic set up with candles and flowers on the ground near the overlook of the city. The sun was just setting and the stars were slowly coming out. 

“Alejandro, look at all of this. It’s so wonderful you did all of this for me?” Arthur gasped, taking a step forward to look at everything. Turning his head back to the american before letting a smile grow on his face as he noticed Alejandro had taken a picture of Arthur but was just looking at the Brit with the softest smile on his face. 

“I did, I wanted you to see the city from a different point of view - also I told you my food is to die for.” With a laugh Alejandro led Arthur over to the blanket and helped him down onto a comfortable spot with a few pillows underneath before sitting next to Arthur and pulling out the items in the basket. 

“I hope you’re hungry because I made a whole 3 course meal for ya.” Alejandro pulled out plates before showing pulling out the containers keeping the food warm. He began to explain everything that was in them and how he made it all - making sure Arthur wasn't allergic or didn’t like anything first before serving them both.

-

“Alejandro, thank you this was a fun day and a very beautiful evening I’ve had.” Arthur leaned his head on Alejandro’s shoulder as he watched the stars. The food had been finished hours ago as the two had talked about anything they could think of. Alejandro had his arm wrapped around Arthur’s lower back and his coat covering their laps. The candles had burned out an hour ago and everything was put back into the car besides the pillows and the picnic blanket. 

“You don’t need to thank me at all. You deserve this and I wanted you to have a good night.” Alejandro chuckled, pulling Arthur closer to his side as he felt the breeze pick up. “Hey teacup, it’s getting cold out, would you like me to take you back home?”

Arthur turned to look at Alejandro and nodded. “I’d love that.”

Alejandro moved to stand up first, holding a hand out for Arthur to help him up as well. When Arthur got up he moved to place his coat on Arthur’s shoulders and pull him into a tight hug. Once he let go Alejandro led Arthur to the passenger side of the car opening the door for him. 

Alejandro let out a grunt as a bright light shined in his face, an arm shooting up to cover Arthur’s eyes as he squinted through his sunglasses. Only to hear Arthur start cursing loudly. 

“Why the bloody fuck is he here?! Alejandro, that's Alfred's car - WAIT!” Arthur yelped when Alejandro shoved Arthur into the car and slammed the door only to hear an engine roar and the lights grow in size as the mustang charged the Lamborghini. 

The sound of broken glass caused Arthur to cover his face right as he put his seatbelt on. The Lamborghini roared to life as he was jerked to the side in surprise - looking up Arthur’s eyes widened at the sight. Alejandro had broken the driver side window and jumped in just like a race car quick enough to pull the car out of the way of the mustang. The american ignored Arthur as he threw the steering wheel all the way to the left to drift the car around on the overlook and back onto the dirt road. 

Looking into the re-view mirror Alejandro floored the gas and threw on the boost as they soared down the road with the mustang right behind them.

“Hold on babydoll, looks like you’re getting to see one of my races first hand. Whatever you do, don't freak out okay? I’ve got you.” Alejandro flipped on the high beams and started pushing the car into the 80’s, soon climbing to the 90’s. When Alejandro saw the tight turns coming into view he reached down pulling on the emergency brake while throwing the wheel in order to drift right around the corner.

The mustang behind them made the sound of metal on metal as it screeched around the corner itself - catching the metal safety rail as it went around. 

Right around the corner was a long straight stretch of road that went down the side of the overlook. Alejandro cursed when he noticed, pushing the brake back down while flooring the car once more. Soon reaching the 90’s once more, but Alejandro refused to push to the 100’s on a road like this. Dirt roads were not meant for this kind of racing and with how dark out it is everything was set for dangerous driving conditions to begin with. 

Alejandro let a growl escape him as he quickly swerved to the side as the Mustang flew right up the middle in an attempt to ram the Lamborghini from behind. With only a second to think Alejandro slammed the brakes bringing them right behind the Mustang. Alejandro started wishing he had brought one of his trucks or even a suv - those would survive trying to go off road to escape the mustang but with this low of a sports car he couldn’t risk it. 

“Arthur, I’m sorry - shit im so fucking sorry.” Alejandro slammed a hand onto the steering wheel as he pulled the car to the side once more as the Mustang slammed on it’s own brakes in an attempt to break check. 

“Alejandro - no please it’s okayAY-” Arthur’s voice raised as he clenched the sides of the passenger seat when the car jerked to the side again. “Fuck! God fucking damn it he’s crazy-”

With a nod from the red headed american, Alejandro went quite as he noticed what looked to be a bridge up ahead. Looking to Arthur then to the Mustang he was quickly catching up once more - the racer made his choice. The Lamborghini jerked forward as Alejandro threw the car into its final gear. Climbing to 100’s, 120’s in seconds - Alejandro reached to throw on his seatbelt as quickly as possible. 

“Arthur tuck your head down NOW!” Alejandro snapped to the brit - darting the car to the side once more to avoid the mustang, braking only enough to swing his car just enough to clip the back corner of the mustang to send it into a tailspin. 

The Lamborghini jerked to the side as well - Arthur tucking himself into the car even more with a cry of fear. Soon enough the feeling of weightlessness hit Arthur - his body lifting out of the seat just a few inches, enough to cause the brit to freak out and lash out with his arms grasping for anything he could hang onto. 

Alejandro had driven right into the bridge that was partially raised and used the angle as a makeshift ramp. Part of the bridge breaking as the heavy car ran over it but with the speed and the right angle the lambo easily cleared the gap. The car landed with a heavy thud only to hit some standing water on the other side and send it into a tailspin right into one of the safety guards on the other side. 

Before Arthur could think Alejandro had ripped off their seatbelts and pulled Arthur out of the car through the drivers side in seconds. The airbags went off right as they landed on the ground panting. The sound of the mustang that was behind them hand died down, the car stuck on the other side of the river due to one part of the bridge broken. Both Arthur and Alejandro held their breath as the car slowly backed up and turned away - slowly going down a different side road to find another way down from the overlook. 

Arthur began to cry, hands covering his face as the tears rolled down. He curled into a ball in Alejandro’s lap as he let his emotions take over. The mood of the date from earlier had all but vanished now - the feeling of fear and dread had now consumed Arthur.

“I'm so sorry, I didn’t know - he tried to run us off the road.”   
Alejandro said nothing, slowly snaking his arms around Arthur and hugging him tightly. His head burying into the Brits hair - his sunglasses being tossed off his face and onto the ground. 

“It’s okay - just breathe and let it all out. I'm here for you.”

After some time Arthur opened his eyes, looking around slowly before noticing the sunglasses on the ground. His hand tightened around Alejandro’s arm as he reached out to pick up the glasses. “Y-you dropped these love.”

“Ha, they'll live. My lucky glasses haven't broken yet.”

“Dear they are broken.”  
“...shit okay they aren’t lucky then I guess.” Both Arthur and Alejandro laughed at this.

“Alejandro - look at me.”

“Arthur wait -”

“Please I have to know. Alejandro I have too-” Arthur turned his head to look at the body of the american wrapped around him.

Alejandro slowly lifted his head from Arthur’s hair - slowly his eyes locked onto Arthur’s. Both of them breathed in heavily for a few seconds. Arthur saw the most handsome ruby while Alejandro looked at the beautiful emeralds of Arthurs.

-

Alejandro never understood why everyone always wanted to find their soulmate to see all the colors of the rainbow - he fell in love with the most beautiful green and that is all he ever needed to see.

However it was nice to know that Arthur was a blonde, had the most beautiful freckles on his face and loved wearing the shade of ruby - the same shade that was Alejandro’s eyes and hair. He couldn’t make fun of Arthur though, Alejandro was knitted the most beautiful green cardigan and the american wore it whenever he could.

He was able to keep Arthur out of the spotlight and cameras for almost a year until he made a small slip up by correcting another racer on the color of the car they just bought. The paparazzi went nuts knowing this was hidden for so long.


End file.
